Another wolf pack in northeast Oregon

JOSEPH, Ore. — State biologists have identified a new wolf pack in northeastern Oregon.

Biologists spotted two gray-colored adult wolves and their litter of five pups last Saturday in the Upper Minam River drainage in the Eagle Cap Wilderness.

Department of Fish and Wildlife spokeswoman Michelle Dennehy told The Oregonian (http://is.gd/uyYMEC ) the litter is the fifth documented this year in northeastern Oregon, bringing the number of new wolf pups in the state this year to 23.

Oregon's wolf numbers have steadily grown in recent years, and the state could close to the goal of four breeding pair of gray wolves for three consecutive years east of the Cascades. Achieving that objective could start the process to delist the gray wolf from the Oregon Endangered Species Act.